Second man dies as 999 crews take break

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The 21-year-old, who has not been named, had to wait 14 minutes for an ambulance, even though two other crews were much closer.

He was declared dead on arrival at hospital after suffering a cardiac arrest following a drugs overdose.

It is unclear whether he could have been saved if help had arrived more rapidly at the emergency in Tottenham but ambulance service sources said he would at least have had time to receive potentially life-saving treatment in the hospital.

EU working hours rules and a new NHS pay scheme mean that during a 12-hour shift London paramedics and ambulance technicians must be given a break in which they cannot be sent on 999 calls.

A 73-year-old man died in Edmonton on New Year's Eve after waiting 30 minutes for an ambulance when two crews were on a break five minutes away.

The 21-year-old was attended to within five minutes by a single paramedic in a car after collapsing on 21 December.

It took 14 minutes for an ambulance to arrive to take him to hospital. As both available units in Tottenham were on breaks, the nearest working crew had to be summoned fromKing's Cross.

This latest case emerged as controversial new guidance was issued to managers saying paramedics working at the same station should be given breaks simultaneously, despite the potential delays.

One ambulance worker, who asked not to be named, said: "It has caused nothing but problems since it was introduced. Staff deserve a break but we have not got enough crews to make sure we maintain cover and get to calls.

"If crews do not get a break they can go home early - in one area on Christmas Day we had 11 out of 16 crews leave half an hour early because they had not been able to get a break. It meant there were only five ambulances available for calls between 6.30am and 7am on Boxing Day."

Ambulance crews should be given a 45-minute break roughly half way through their shift. During the first 30 minutes they cannot be disturbed at all but in the final 15 minutes they can be sent on the most urgent 999 calls if they are the nearest crew. If this happens, the crew receive £10 each.

The London Ambulance Service's director of operations, Russell Smith, said: "Staff working 12-hour shifts should not be expected to work through without a break and we try to do all we can to ensure that these needs are balanced with those of demand on the 999 service."

Of the policy of putting more than one crew on a break at the same time in the same area, Mr Smith said: "There are occasions when more than one local ambulance crew is put on a break at a time. This is necessary to ensure all staff get a break during their long, demanding shifts.

"Cover is provided by other onduty staff, either from the same station or a neighbouring station, and our control room is responsible for sending the nearest resource to any calls that are received.

"If staff are not allocated a break, this unpaid time is given at the end of their shift, meaning they can leave early. It is important that we do our best to allocate breaks during shifts to avoid large numbers of staff finishing early."